Dulles Toll Road price increases

Starting Wednesday, tolls at the main toll plaza went up by 75 cents to $2.50 for most cars. That means a one-way ride on the 28-mile highway costs - coupled with the $1 toll at the highway's exits - costs $3.50.

The extra revenue is earmarked to partially finance Metro's new Silver Line, the first phase of which is slated to open early this year. That first phase will extend to Reston, while a second phase to Dulles International Airport and beyond will open several years from now.

While thousands of people per day traverse the road that cuts through the heart of Northern Virginia, the sting of paying upwards of $7.50 per week will not soon subside.

"There is just no way I can accept this," Louis Gaver, a small business owner and Toll Road driver, said. "It's just another tax."

In addition, with the price of gas continuing to fluctuate, the toll hike isn't helping anyone's wallet.

"Gas is costing more, everything is going up," commuter Phil Shores said. "It's going to be a real burden on the budget."

In addition to Silver Line funding, the extra toll revenue will go toward operating the maintaining the highway, which opened in 1982.

There's a reprieve amidst Wednesday's hike, though. Thanks to more than $300 million in new state funding after the passage of Virginia's landmark transportation bill, tolls won't go up again in 2015.